As a male, I have some trouble making credible women characters in my fiction. I was given the advice to write a woman like you'd write a man. Was this good advice? Does it make sense?
Female characters
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I would only worry about if it your main character is a woman, because then you'd likely have to perfect certain personality traits and nuances. Otherwise, just write it how you feel it.
I don't know about you, but none of the women I know are anything like the guys I know. They don't look, talk, think or, most importantly, act/react the same as guys.
I have a feeling were I to read a story in which a woman behaved exactly as a guy I'd find myself wondering A) Why the author chose to make the guy a gal and B) Why he couldn't bother to even attempt to write a realistic characterization of a woman. Don't get me wrong, I have a hard time writing for characters of the fairer sex as well, but to me that's part of the challenge and joy of writing - to explore those things about which you are unfamiliar. Why deprive yourself and your readers of that experience by taking a shortcut?
Just my opinion, of course, but I think if you've got faith in your ability to write you should trust yourself to write a woman as a woman, not some pale reflection of a man with breasts.
Best of luck.
I don't know about you, but none of the women I know are anything like the guys I know. They don't look, talk, think or, most importantly, act/react the same as guys.
I have a feeling were I to read a story in which a woman behaved exactly as a guy I'd find myself wondering A) Why the author chose to make the guy a gal and B) Why he couldn't bother to even attempt to write a realistic characterization of a woman. Don't get me wrong, I have a hard time writing for characters of the fairer sex as well, but to me that's part of the challenge and joy of writing - to explore those things about which you are unfamiliar. Why deprive yourself and your readers of that experience by taking a shortcut?
Just my opinion, of course, but I think if you've got faith in your ability to write you should trust yourself to write a woman as a woman, not some pale reflection of a man with breasts.
Best of luck.
So I take it you disagree.
jk
Possibly the advice giver was saying : make them as fully realised as you would a character of your own sex.
So not just a pair of boobs and some legs. She should have as much detail in her as the males you write. In the same way I try and make my guys not just walking libidos They react differently to a female character ( I hope) but for their own valid reasons.
So not just a pair of boobs and some legs. She should have as much detail in her as the males you write. In the same way I try and make my guys not just walking libidos
They react differently to a female character ( I hope) but for their own valid reasons.Possibly the advice giver was merely saying : make them as fully realised as you would a character of your own sex.
So not just a pair of boobs and some legs. She should have as much detail in her as the males you write. In teh same way I try and make my guys not just walking libidos
Well put. I think that's exactly what the advisor was driving at. Thanks for revising and articulating.
Not that I'm an expert, but try getting into the female psyche. Watch lots of Oprah and the view. Watch some chick flicks and movies with strong (and weak) female characters.
When you do all of this, try to get into the heads of the characters. After that, discuss these movies and insights with some female friends who will be candid in explaining to you all the 'whys'.
Just remember. You don't have to agree with it, you just have to understand it.
Mel...
When you do all of this, try to get into the heads of the characters. After that, discuss these movies and insights with some female friends who will be candid in explaining to you all the 'whys'.
Just remember. You don't have to agree with it, you just have to understand it.
Mel...
Pick some you know; your mother, sister, teacher or a woman you admire.
My mother had the maternal instincts of a guppy. They eat their young.
My sister is an only child and my teachers were nuns (nuf said).
Still, I when I came to write my first novel it was the gentle, motherly housekeeper who, in my opinion, came away as the most likable / nobel character.
C
My mother had the maternal instincts of a guppy. They eat their young.
My sister is an only child and my teachers were nuns (nuf said).
Still, I when I came to write my first novel it was the gentle, motherly housekeeper who, in my opinion, came away as the most likable / nobel character.
C
Can anyone name me a published writer (male) who could write women accurately? Tom Robbins is the first to come to mind.
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Ask us ladies some questions.
I'm sure more than one of us can provide some feedback.
I'm willing to help....
pm me, if need be
I'm sure more than one of us can provide some feedback.
I'm willing to help....
pm me, if need be
I'm just swimming in the stew for now. I've been working on a book I began last semester, and I'm considering making it my creative piece for my thesis. I have several women characters who are integral to the plot. I feel that I could go much deeper with them. If I can think of anything specific I will be sure to mention it. Just stewing for now, though. Thanks for putting the offer on the table.
This question only poses a substantial dilemma if you presuppose an essential difference between people of different genders.
People of any gender are exactly alike in all the ways that matter to you as a fiction writer: they form relationships, they hurt, they hurt others, they are loved, they love others, they speak languages and communicate themselves intelligently, they have an immense inner world of reasons and excuses and stories that explain the things they say and do. Fully realize that, and they'll be fully realized characters, of whatever gender.
Don't get caught up thinking you can't write a character because zir body is different from yours.
People of any gender are exactly alike in all the ways that matter to you as a fiction writer: they form relationships, they hurt, they hurt others, they are loved, they love others, they speak languages and communicate themselves intelligently, they have an immense inner world of reasons and excuses and stories that explain the things they say and do. Fully realize that, and they'll be fully realized characters, of whatever gender.
Don't get caught up thinking you can't write a character because zir body is different from yours.
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This is a double-edged sword.
Some folk might get potentially offended at either (a) the writer's inability to stretch themselves to writing a distinctly female character or (b) the writer's subtle implication that women should be like men.
However, I see this differently.
Women can be irrational. So can men. Women can be emotional. So can men. Women can be nurturing, compassionate, attentive, sensitive. And so can men.
Men can be strong. So can women. Men can be logical. So can women. Men can be warriors, champions, leaders, loud, brash, obnoxious, irritating, rude, crude, sexist. And so can women.
There is certainly a difference between writing the two. People treat women differently than men. They are raised differently, with different social forces, different expectations, different goals.
But when it comes down to it, women and men are people, and you can have men just as hysterical and frivolous as a stereotypical woman and women just as brass-tacks as a stereotypical man.
In a story I'm working on, I was debating between making a certain character male or female; I decided, due to the energy of the role and the energy I needed between this character another, that it should be male. The character didn't have a "feminine" energy about it, and I had to stay true to the story on that one.
So, in the end, write women like you would write men: like a well-rounded, fully fleshed out character, rich and complex.
Creating women characters
The most common criticism of Hemingway is that his women characters are no more than sticks, flat on the page. In spite of this, Hemingway made quite a splash in the literary world, didn't he.
The most common criticism of Hemingway is that his women characters are no more than sticks, flat on the page. In spite of this, Hemingway made quite a splash in the literary world, didn't he.
Arthur Golden comes to mind for me. He wrote (in first-person) Memoirs of a Geisha.
Yes. Orson Scott Card. This guy is so into the female mind it scares me. How does he KNOW that crap?
(I think all of his female characters are great, but if you want to get right to the meat, pick up Rebekah or another of his 'women of the old testement' series.)Incidentally, I'm female and I hate Oprah, the View, and chick flicks. I hate sentimentality. I hate all the "emotional" stuff that is attributed to women. Yes, we are in general more in touch with our emotions and we "get" emotional situations, but that doesn't necessarily mean they rule us.
So... yeah, don't assume we're all the same. Just like guys aren't all the same.
This is good advice. I do think there are "masculine" and "feminine" types, as far as thought/behavior patterns go, and there's a bell curve/sliding scale, but I've never put down a book because "a woman would never think/do that." You have to create a believable character and if you achieve that, readers will believe that her actions and thoughts are hers--they won't stop to ponder, "Would a woman really think that?"
Reading some quality, character-driven womens' fiction might be in order, in addition to the other suggestions upthread.
Yes. Orson Scott Card. This guy is so into the female mind it scares me. How does he KNOW that crap?
Incidentally, I'm female and I hate Oprah, the View, and chick flicks. I hate sentimentality. I hate all the "emotional" stuff that is attributed to women. Yes, we are in general more in touch with our emotions and we "get" emotional situations, but that doesn't necessarily mean they rule us.
So... yeah, don't assume we're all the same. Just like guys aren't all the same.
My lord! You took the words out of my mouth about Oprah, the View, etc...
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You write a woman not so much 'like a man' as 'like a person'. Women are people, men are people--therefore much of what a man is is not specific to being a man. In fact it would be pretty hard to find psychological quality that really is gender specific.
Possibly the advice giver was saying : make them as fully realised as you would a character of your own sex.
So not just a pair of boobs and some legs. She should have as much detail in her as the males you write. In the same way I try and make my guys not just walking libidos
I suspect this as the intent of the advice, too, in which case I would definitely agree. Don't think so much of "writing a female character," as much as "writing a character." Imagine your women as fully 3-dimensional and lifelike as your men. Think of their history, their loves, their desires. There will certainly be some subtle differences in reactions, and sometimes motivations, in women (in general), but as long as your know your character, the realism will come through in the writing, whether male or female.
Yes, remember that trying to hard to "write a good female character," can often lead not to writing a good female character, but to writing a female stereotype. If you went through a novel and simply chose to develop your character along the lines of "most women would do this in this situation" for each and every decision that comes along, you won't have a realistic female character. You'd just have a cardboard stereotype.
I know women that hate emotions and can't empathize with anyone. And I know men who want nothing more than to "talk about it" and start crying at any hint of sentimentality. There are differences between the sexes, but they're very often overshadowed by the differences between individuals.
I suspect 99% of the time, if a reader reads something and cries out "no man would ever do this!" or "no woman would ever do this!" the problem is not, in fact, that no man or women would ever think that way, but rather that the action/thought process just isn't realistic for this particular character, no matter the gender. If it's in-character for a female character to do one thing, even though "no woman would ever do that!" then it will be realistic for that character to do that. I know plenty of women who do things "no women would ever do."
Take, for example, the characters JD and Jordan from Scrubs. If you ignore the characters and their personality, and only look at individual actions, I'm sure you could come up with tons of things that seem out-of-character for their sex. But when you consider what they're like as characters--their pasts, their personalities, etc.--it becomes perfectly realistic.
Danger Jane said:
This is true, but we can't act as though this is a quality inherent in gender. As Dempsey pointed out, there are significant social pressures exerted on women to behave and think in certain ways. And insofar as those pressures are unique to women, it will shape the essence of any female characters one might pen.
But, as I said, that's not a quality of gender; it's a quality of social experiences and pressures. So if you create a fantasy world from scratch, where the discrimination, exploitation, and victimization of women which occurs in our culture are non-existent, you don't have to include those aspects of a woman's character that arise from those pressures. If you're setting something in a relatively modern urban environment, whose basic context mirrors that of early 21st century America, then you would be remiss if you failed to include those realities which are unique (erm, not really, but you know what I mean) to this culture, unless you can properly explain why your character is not subject to those pressures.
In short: think of realistic reasons for your characters' beliefs, thoughts, habits, and personality traits. It's just easier that way.
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